1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to respirator masks with supplementary panels that can be attached as light filters in front of the visor panels provided in the facepiece.
2. Background Art
Visor panels are inserted at the wearer's eye level into the respirator facepiece that is made of a flexible material. The practice to attach supplementary panels made of a light-filtering material in front of the visor panels, if required, to protect the eyes against light rays that can damage them or impair vision by dazzling effects is known. Mask bodies typically feature a frame around the perimeter of the visor panels for attaching supplementary panels while these supplementary panels are embedded in a rubber collar around their rims. Attaching the supplementary panels requires fitting the rubber collar onto the frame and is a tedious and time-consuming activity that becomes even more difficult when the wearer has to wear protective gloves. Moreover, the eyes must be protected immediately to prevent damage in some applications involving rays of light, which cannot be done in the required time frame without the help of others when using the known supplementary panel systems. In addition to the complex design involving a frame and a collar, another disadvantage of the supplementary panels and their attachment systems in use is that they take considerable space and make reading instrument displays very difficult.